How Do You Boost Your Self-Esteem?

(I'm not asking for sympathy, nor am I attention seeking/ for compliments) So there's a few things that make me ugly. I have braces, acne/oily skin, not really curvy, my face is really unsymmetrical, i'm short, i have dark skin, and my hair isn't all the way to my waist. i've attempted to try to change these things but it's hard and makes me frustated and makes me go into depression sometimes. i stopped caring about the way i look, but i don't want to. i wanna care and take care of myself. can someone give me tips to to boost my self-esteem? or like what you did to help you over come or dealt with it better about your insecurities?

Most Helpful Girl

Pick a hobby that you have always been wanting to try. Go on an adventure and enjoy life. The I way boosted my self esteem was by not caring what other people thought of me and not comparing myself to every other girl in my school. Because everyone is unique and beautiful in there own way. Having confidence and feeling good about yourself comes from within.

What Guys Said 3

You set short-term, realistic goals that still require some work to achieve, and you work your butt off to achieve them. Some of them can even be seemingly minor. Here's an example from an Admiral and former Navy SEAL:

Stop focusing on OTHER PEOPLE and don't compare yourself to other people. Their accompishments are meaningless to you, because they are not you and you are not them - your life, your skills, your experiences, your gifts, are all different from theirs. Instead, compete against YOURSELF. Make it your goal to improve bits of yourself everyday.

LEARN - learn from people, from books, from your own experiences and the experiences of others.

GIVE - help others, even if it's just holding a door open or letting someone with one item go ahead of you at the grocery store.

ACCOMPLISH YOUR GOALS that you've set for yourself, both short and longer-term, and set new ones that are going to cause you to work a little more and a little harder the next time - but again, keep them realistic.

Realize that 99% of the people you know today will not be in your life once you graduate high school, so what they think of you today or tomorrow is meaningless. In fact, what MOST people think of you is meaningless. You will have a handful of people in your life that YOU respect: likely your parents, a very close friend or two, your teachers, your boss (es), and perhaps a coach or mentor. Those are really the only people whose opinion should matter to you (and if your relationship with your parents is unhealthy, for example, then they shouldn't be on the list).

You're still 14. You are still growing and changing. Your braces will come off and your teeth will be straight. Your hair will grow. Your acne will improve. Those kinds of things won't take much work, because you can't do much to change them. SO QUIT WORRYING ABOUT THEM. Focus on the things you CAN change, and again, the only yardstick you should be using to measure your progress is YOU - learn to compete AGAINST YOURSELF and FORGET about what others are doing.